Songs: Stumblin' To Gloryland, Radio, Statue Of Liberty, Time Won't Wait, Magic Trick, Everywhere I Go, Greener Grass, Unspoken Words, Picturesque Girl, Mad Mad Nomad, Cruel Twist, You Need The Light

Personnel: The Westerleys are Nancy Terzian -- vocals; Doug E. Blumer -- vocals and guitar; and Peter Axtell -- vocals and guitar. Special guests are Kent Fossgreen -- bass; Joe Craven -- percussion, violin, mandolin; Jim McCarty -- drums and percussion; Tim Ellis -- guitar on Magic Trick; Peter Grant -- Zephyr dobro, pedal steel, and Hawaiian guitar

There's a strong melodic wind in the air that sounds as refreshing as a cool breeze on a warm summer day, and it goes by the name of The Westerleys, and they have a brand new recording titled Stumblin' To Gloryland. Blending three different voices and three styles of songwriting, this talented trio has created a sound of their own that is as beautiful as anything that has come down the musical road before. All three sing lead and harmony, and they each get their turns at doing both. Every selection on the CD was either written by or with one of the band members, and no two songs sound exactly the same. If you take one part folk, one part country, and mix in a little bit of bluegrass with some heavenly harmonies, you'd have what can only be described forevermore as "The Westerley Sound".

The Westerleys are Nancy Terzian, Doug E. Blumer, and Peter Axtell, and they met through an organization called the Northern California Songwriters Association (NCSA), a network of over 1,000 members in and around the Bay Area. They've been performing together for a little over three years now, and like a fine crafted instrument they are getting better with the passing of time. They've won numerous songwriting awards, they were a featured act at the 1996 Fall Strawberry Music Festival, and they can be found playing various other festivals around the country as well as venues in the Bay Area. But if you don't get out too much you can't go wrong by stumblin' over to the hifi and cueing up this new CD.

The first song on the CD is the title cut, Stumblin' To Gloryland, which is a homeless song with a country beat and a gospel theme that was inspired by a local that Doug met near his home in the North Beach section of San Francisco. It features some soulful steel guitar by Peter Grant. A tuned-down violin sets the seductive mood on the Radio song, which answers the question "Who needs TV?" when it's just "you and me baby and the radio." Statue of Liberty and Time Won't Wait are about making hard choices. Magic Trick, which is destined to be a hit for someone (hopefully this band) asks the age-old question about love -- "Is this real or only a magic trick?"-- something we've all pondered at one time or another. Everywhere I Go is snazzy swing number featuring some jazzy fiddlin' by Joe Craven, whose mandolin pickin' brings a bluegrass flavor to Greener Grass and some of the other songs. Unspoken Words and Cruel Twist of Love could be two different versions of the same situation, Mad Mad Nomad and Picturesque Girl are about two dreamers, and You Need the Light quietly closes off this fine collection of truly original material.

Back in the 1950s there were the sweet sibling harmonies of the brother duos named Delmore, Louvin, and Everly; in the 1960s came the invasion of The Beatles from England; in the 1970s the Eagles flew in from Southern California; and in the 1980s we had, uh, let's see.. (I'll have to get back to you on this). All of these bands had a unique style of harmony singing that left their imprint on the sounds of their eras. With some old fashioned luck maybe the 90s will be remembered as the decade of The Westerleys.

Like a breath of fresh air, The Westerleys are a welcome relief from the slick Stetsonite Nashville sound, and a nice change from the high lonesome hillbilly harmonies you bluegrass fans are used to. Time won't wait, and neither should you, so Stumblin' To Gloryland with The Westerleys. The new CD is available by calling (415) 433-5631 or by sending $16.50 to P.O. Box 2063, Mill Valley, CA 94941. You might also check out their web site at http://songs.com /westerleys.